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When the Phoenix meets the Spirit
WhenThePhoenixMeetsTheSpirit01.png The sun ascended upon the town of Oshibana in the days of X805, a rooster could be heard in the distance as the citizens were finally getting up from their good night sleep. Nero Atosaki had recently entered the town in search for work and if there were any guilds around the area. He quickly stumbled upon the local tavern and thought it'd be a good place to start his search. Upon entering the tavern, the smell of alcohol filled the air and the bartender was busy cleaning the bottles while there were still some poor sods lying here and there. It must have been a party last night or something similar. Nevertheless, Nero, who was clad in his usual white suit, made his way over to the counter and sat down before talking to the bartender: "Morning, I'll be taking just a regular beer for now." The bartender nodded and uncorked a bottle before giving it to the stranger. Nodding back in acknowledgement he took a sip before turning to ask the bartender another question: "So, know of any recruiting guilds around these parts?" Seemingly being more of the silent type, the bartender gave Nero a nod before pointing towards a blonde man on the floor not too far from him. An embarrassment of a mage to say the least, Gai Diyos was passed out drunk on the floor with heavy grey eyebags colouring the underside of his eyes and his blonde hair roughed up as the hairs pointed in different directions from each other. He had participated in this disaster of a party that was held in honour of Gai's attempts at saving the town once again from dark mages that plotted to destroy it. As the snoring gasps for air escaped his throat and past his lips, Gai remained unconscious on the wooden floorboards with a bottle in one hand and a knife in the other. Gai had actually spent the entire night trying to recruit more members for his guild, casually using the party as a means to find mages that were currently looking for a guild, though unfortunately not many who attended could have been mages at all and that was something Gai could not admit. Despite this, another story could be told by the bottle and knife that he was lying down with on the floor in a hungover state. Possibly something that could easily put off a guild seeking mage such as Nero. Turning his head over to the left and downwards from where the bartender was pointing, what he saw was not encouraging. But he knew that he shouldn't judge a man by his sorry appearance, even if the man looked more like he'd threaten Nero to join his guild rather than simply asking. He took ahold of his fedora and put it down to his right before his face turned into a smirk and brought his attention back to the bartender. Nero took the liberty to check out the bartender's nametag before going on to his questions: "Alright then, Pablo, right?" The bartender nodded in agreement. "So what is he, just another member?" Pablo shakes his head. "Huh... alright then, what about S-Class?" Pablo shakes it again. "No way, a Guild Ace?" Yet again, the bartender shakes his head. "No, wait, don't tell me... He's the fucking Guild Master?" Pablo nodded. Nero's faced showed clear signs that he was very unimpressed by this new information, giving out a loud sigh before looking at the fallen guild master and then back to Pablo. "Fuck it, might as well try it. Got any methods for waking up disappointing guild masters around these parts?" Pablo's face turned into one the smuggest grins one could imagine, his bottom teeth shining just below his fabulous moustache before reaching out for something below the counter. What he lifted up was a big barrel of ice-cold water, he looked at Nero for a moment, raising his eyebrows up and down a couple of times before emptying the barrel of water onto the resting Guild Master. As the icy cold water embraced Gai's passed out body, the cold instantly triggered his body's functions as Gai let out a moan, clenching his teeth as the cold water rained down on him from above. Trying to resist the cold, Gai casually greeted to whoever had decided to treat him to the few seconds of a cold moment that could only really imitate the feeling of death. "Hello? Did someone say guild... I got a guild... I'm a guild master!" Gai said with his words drifting off into space and slurring heavily as if he was still drunk. You could tell that this hangover wasn't doing any good for Gai. With his hair dripping and his upper body soaked with water, it was very strange for Gai not to be shivering by now, staying still as his eyes still shut as people in the bar continued with their lives, walking over the weakened guild master. Pablo's facial expression turned from a grin into something more akin to an expression of shock, as if to say that this method usually worked on his customers, but it would indeed appear that Gai wasn't letting it bother him too much and Pablo gave up and simply put the now empty barrel back down below the counter. Nero, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure if he was impressed or annoyed by the fact that the guild master still wouldn't budge, even after being drenched in cold water and stepped on by his fellow villagers. Well, he said it himself, he has a guild and he's a guild master. But I'm wondering if he has been recruiting for long as it sounded like he has been rehearsing '' With these thoughts going through Nero's mind as he watched the guild master's lack of effort when it came to getting up, Nero had come to accept the challenge and started saying things that could potentially wake the poor sod up: "Yo, Mr. Guild Master, someone is interested in your guild... There's a hot girl outside that wants to join... Free drinks for the next guild master that wakes up... Eh.. I challenge you." "...Free drinks?" Gai responded in an instant as his eyelids shot open and his body mindlessly pushed himself from the floor, not minding the puddle around him from the water of before. An eager ring in his tone meant that he was fully awake for the meanwhile but the grey eyebags remained on his face, though his eyes now beared a more innocent and comforting vibe to them. "I'm Gai Diyos, guild master of what even makes up my guild Stellara Nocte. I'm sure you would have seen our symbol around the town if you've stayed here long, we are actually one of the only guilds in this part in all honesty." Gai hastily addressed himself, dusting off his blue coat and the blue pants that he was mostly seen in. Eyeing the white suit that the man had clothed himself in, Gai couldn't help but see that there was a kind of regal and posh kind of vibe emitting from the man's presence. Looking at Pablo and nodding silently, the bartender sighed loudly for all to hear before leaving his position at the counter and going to a back room through a door located near his former position. "So then lad, do you have a name? But more importantly, what's this about 'free drinks'?" Gai prodded. "A name? Why yes, I do have one of those. Though I'm not used to answering such questions from a man holding a bottle in one hand and a knife in the other." Pointing towards the man's hands as he'd still be holding onto these said pieces of equipment. "But to answer your questions in the same order you gave them, Nero Atosaki and since free drinks were the only thing you reacted to, then yes, I'll buy you a couple of them." Looking over to see where Pablo went off to, there was no sign of him for the moment but you could clearly hear him muttering and scrambling around over at his end. "So then, Guy, was it? While we wait for our drinks, care to tell me of your guild? I just entered the town in search for one and you're honestly the first guild-man I've found, so by that account, Stellara doesn't seem to populated." "No no, it's G''ai. Not G''uy'', but G'ai'." Gai said as he opened his hands out and dropped the knife and bottle that he was holding onto before, "and no it really isn't. I just saved these sorry asshats from some dark mage cult dedicated to summoning some sort of demon into the world yeah? Though turns out, most of the people that came to celebrate were all just normal people with no sense of magical power at all. The nerve of these people, coming to this recruitment event when they're not even mages. Ah well, it's more of the fact that not many people would have some foreign kid from a far away country lead something as organised as a guild." Gai admitted, looking down at the ground with his tone of voice becoming more and more quiet. Pablo had finally returned from the other room, now carrying two large bottles made with a very dark green coloured glass with the label saying "Plenari". "Before you get me some free drinks though, I think you should try these, honestly the best kind of alcohol money can get around in these parts and has just the right amount of alcohol one would need by about... 98 percent? So you already know we're going to be having a blast by the end of this." Gai said with cheer as Pablo sighed again louder this time from in the background. Well, at least he dropped the knife. Nero thought for a moment before taking a look at the alcohol that was just served to them. "Alright, I'm in for a couple of drinks with you, eh, Gay." It was a simply name indeed, but for some odd reasons he couldn't quite make out what the man's name was as it all sounded so alike anyhow. Taking ahold of one of the bottles and uncorked it, waiting for his new companion to do the same. "Alright, but before we start this. One, you mentioned a foreign country, care to share which one? And why not make some kind of contest with these drinks, could be fun." He was undoubtedly hoping that Gai would accept his offer, he looked like the kind of guy who wouldn't back down from a drinking match. But little did the Guild Master know that as a Phoenix Slayer, Nero was actually completely immune to the effects of alcohol and couldn't become drunk, even if he really, really wanted to. It's a win-win situation, I win the game and he gets free drinks... I wonder what the prize will be though... "You know, that hurts Mr. Nero, it's G'ai', not G''uy'' or G''ay''. It's G'ai' ya know?" Gai said unimpressed with Nero's attempt to say his name, internally screaming in anger and pain as his hand was tempted to reach out to the knife on the floor and stab Nero on the spot, with only Gai's human morals and principles stopping him from doing such an act. "And I actually came from Mys where I served in the government, the home of the House of Hogi and the capital of their Mystan Empire" Gai grinned with pride, "And for your second question, why the hell not? Unless you've got some cheap trick up your sleeve to beat me but let me tell you something, ut's going to take a lo~ong time before I pass out from having too much of this stuff alright?" Gai assured Nero before grabbing onto the bottle of Plenari and twisting the lid off. Pablo walked out from behind the counter and stood near the two mages with a weary look in his eyes, watching the two carefully as he knew the effects of what this alcohol could do. Mummering underneath his magnificent and glorious stache, his murmers seemed to resemble words and become clearer the higher he counted: "Seuehn... Eiyht... Nihne... TEN!" Pablo's manly voice could be heard as the little competition started off without warning. "Yes, I just said that don't worry, your name isn't that hard to remember. I'll say it again to assure you, Gui Ditos, see?" Yesh, who does he take me for. It's just one short name with three letters, anyone would remeber a name like Dai, pff. His eyes rolled and he shacked his head in disappointment before going on: "Oh, Mys? I actually know-..." But before he could continue answering the game was off, he couldn't just sit back and let Gai get a head start, so he began with a small sip just to get a taste for it. It tasted weird, something was off about it but surprisingly good due to its rich flavour. He looked at it for a moment and noticed that it was actually brewed in town, maybe he should check it out later. But without wasting another word he began to chug parts of it down and try and speak once and awhile between each chug. "As I was saying, Mys, my brother actually spent a couple of years over there..." Yet another chug from the bottle before continuing with his story "-...and my sister actually knows Mago Hogi, or so she claims at least, I've never met him myself." He shrugged his shoulders before going back to the beer. His impression was that they would be drinking as many as possible, starting with the toughest and go down from there... Or just continue with the same one, didn't make much difference though. The alcohol quickly slipped past Gai's tongue and collided with the back of his throat, causing an intense burning sensation that was somewhat also relaxing at the same time. Taking the time to catch his breath, Gai continued the conversation with Nero: "Oh shit, for real?-" Gai said before bringing the bottle's neck back to his lips, "-...Mago is like one of my best friends. Though I wouldn't-" he said before going back to drown in more of the alcohol once again, "-... try to be friends with him to be honest, it really is a pain." Gai abruptly stopped as he continued drinking. The clients and drinkers of the bar stared in amazement as Pablo watched intensely at the two mages' faces.the determination, the fire was still alight in his eyes as he didn't want to lose at something he saw himself good at. Nero could only raise his thumb in response as he was drinking his fill, only to put it down with a satisfied tone to his voice: "Phew, this is really something. Don't think I've ever had a drink like this one." He took another sip of the bottle, letting the warm, fiery embrace fill his throat yet another time before looking over at Gai's bottle and then back to his own. They were surprisingly on equal terms and Pablo just realised that his mouth was gaping so he casually closed it by having his hand push the lower jaw upwards, effectively closing his mouth once again. "Oh yeah, how so? Sis mentioned something similar and they seem to be on good terms, but they haven't spoken since the 90's so I think you can understand my doubts in their friendship." Just next to them, a youngster couldn't stand the attention that was given to the other two mages so he ordered a Plenari for himself. Reluctantly, Pablo gave it to him but just after one sip, the young man began to cough uncontrollably and he had to be moved out of the tavern. "Ah poor lad, he didn't expect it would be that bad eh? I made this kind of drink just for my kind of taste but it's good to see that someone else can take in the heat." Gai said as he momentarily gasped for air from the drink. Drinking heavily, Gai had nearly finished his bottle, the drink becoming lighter and lighter in his hand and Pablo's eyes glimmering from behind, it was always a treat to see someone finish Ga's most powerful and intoxicating drink but to have two people doing it, this was basically a masterpiece. Gai's smirked with the bottle still in his mouth, every gulp getting louder as every second went by, and a whole bottle didn't look as if it could knock the two mages down quite easily. Once again taking the bottle from his lips and breathing for air, Gai retained his smile: "I heard that Mago is sort of busy elsewhere you know, doing his own kind of thing like. He's that type of guy from what I know." Nero was just about to take another sip before stopping himself at just the right time: "Wait, you said, "I made this". So, you're a guild master, ex- Mystan Governor and now a brewer? Can't pick a trade can you?" He shacked his head before noticing that Gai was getting ahead of him, and fast. He too took a deep breath before starting gulp down his drink. Even as Gai started talking to him, Nero lifted up one finger as a sign for him to wait while he was still trying to get his drink down. After a few seconds, he finally removed that burning sensation from his ever greedy tongue and throat, slamming his drink down before giving Gai his answer: "Well, considering that you're the only one that has met him out of the two of us, I suppose you know him best. Did you guys talk recently or did he ever mention a woman named Cleopatra? Or maybe something about a woman with many arms and puppets?" He wasn't gonna lie, Nero really wanted to know more about this Mago character as he has only heard about him from his siblings and one of his nephews, let's just say it was a mixed response. But he's also realising that he might be going off topic as this was supposed to be about recruitment. "I've somewhat kept some sort of communication with him you know, though I don't think that really should be allowed you know. Since I'm a guild master of a legal guild and all, but I kind of heard something about a Cleopatra Atosaki?." Gai said as he finished his bottle off with a satisfied sigh and dropping the bottle over the ground. Smiling, Gai had finally found someone who could take in his drink as easily as he did, facing Pablo to his side only to be responded with a disappointed shake of the bartender's head. "Well my occupation is what I want it to be, I honestly only started the brewery just so I could make beers that I could enjoy, most of the alcohol you have here in Ishgar is quite weak and subtle compared to the ones we have back home in Mys. Though in all fairness, this drink does surpass the levels home's got by a very big amount so I might have pushed the limits further than normal I guess." Gai justified his actions, recognising the variety of jobs he had before meeting Nero. "That's fair and all, but I'm honestly surprised that I didn't run into something like this before." He takes a look at his bottle once more, it has a simple design so it's understandable why someone wouldn't think much of it at first, but due to the fact that the percentage of this drink is so high it isn't hard to imagine it being for special occasions rather than a regular drink at the bar. His hand starts to make a circular motion and watches as the liquids inside follows the movement of his hand which ends up creating the closest attempt he could make to that of a vortex before finally deciding to drink the last content inside and putting the bottle down. “But you know, although it's nice to talk about common matters over a very, very good beer, is there anything I should know or if there are any requirements for joining this guild of yours?” "Ah yes," affirmed "Don't mind me drabbling on lad. Well first off, you need to be a mage, do you have any sort of magic that I should be aware of? Next up, I think I'll need to have any sort of criminal record as a way to determine your chance of actually joining a guild that is watched by this continent's Magic Council. Then I guess it's up to me for the last part but I'm sure I'll be able to think of something last minute" Gai proposed as he walked closer to Nero with his tightened fist by his side. At the last few seconds, however, when Gai was approaching Nero, Gai all of a sudden threw his clenched fist right at Nero's abdomen with great speed and might that no-one else in the room was able to see it coming at all. No longer having a beer in his hand and with his full attention on Gai as he was talking, it was needless to say strange to have him get any closer before he'd had a chance to respond or to the fact that they were already sitting next to one another: Despite the man's great speed, Nero was able to match up to it and even end up holding Gai's fist with his left. Looking at Gai for a moment with a serious face, the other customers had barely noticed it and those who had didn't dare say anything if fear of getting involved but his face soon turned into a grin and he released the man's fist: "Considering you didn't send me falling from this chair, I'm guessing you only wanted to test my speed?" He let out a small sigh before he continued: "But to answer your questions that you so abruptly stopped me from answering; One, Yes, I'm a mage. Two, White Phoenix Slayer Magic. Three, I'd say I'm spotless but I frankly haven't checked my criminal records for 10 years. A bonus, speed is my bread and butter so you can cross that off your checklist." "Oh your speed? Yeah, sure..." Gai said as he scratched the back of his head, "Totally. Though if we were going to be doing more testing we probably would have to do it outside." Gai implied as he wished to take this somewhere it isn't enclosed and the safety of civilians is not threatened. Sighing, Gai looked at Nero with an apologetic expression before clenching his fist once again and throwing it right at Nero's face except for this time with a precaution, keeping the other hand clenched ready to strike another at the face again to try and knock Nero out. "Yeah, sure, wh-..." Nero was caught off guard but manages to repeat the previous movement and get ahold of his attacker's fist, the other fist, however, was different. Gai was towards his left and his body was still facing forward towards the counter, he had used his left hand to defend in both occasion but with the third strike he'd have to move his body in order to block it and risk getting sent off the chair or even the bar as he'd have nothing to hold him place; thus he'd was forced to turn his body into the element in which he controls, making Gai's strike go right through and losing the grip on the other one. Before solidifying himself again though he takes the opportunity to get off the seat and end up a few paces away from both Gai and the counter. "You know, some would call that fighting dirty." He stood there as his grin had turned into a smirk: "Since you've made me move I suppose it's best we get going then, but could you at least get my hat over there?" he says as he points towards the counter, where is fedora was left behind. Smiling, Gai was impressed with Nero's capabilities as a mage and took note of the man's element of light, a polar opposite to Gai's darkness. "Sure thing..." Gai shrugged as he went in to reach for the fedora, grabbing onto the top before swinging it right at Nero's face. Timing his movement, Gai made sure that from Nero's perspective Gai would be shielded by the hat coming to Nero's face before using this opportunity to charge into Nero with his shoulder as if he was a battering ram, using his weight as an extra force to knock down Nero. Gai was intrigued with the Phoenix Slayer's capabilities and he was honestly the first of his kind that Gai has come across, and so wanted to see more of the Slayer's abilities. "Sorry lad, but I think I want to see some more of that Phoenix Slayer magic that you have here." While his sight of Gai was obscured, his sound was still in top-shape. From that, he knew that Gai was making his way forward but he didn't know if it was merely a charge, a punch, headbutt or a concealed weapon. Turning his body intangible once again would be the safest option but using the same move again could end up as a trap and it was pretty lame repeating the same move. Nero decided to take the hit, if it ended up being a knife then he'd just have to hope that it wouldn't pierce his heart, if not then he'd simply be able to regenerate himself: Reaching out and grabbing the hat and barely embracing for impact, Nero is sent flying backwards, his feet barely touching the ground but it also reveals some of his acrobatic skills as once of feet touches the solid ground, Nero pushes himself backward and ends up doing a flip. Once again ending up a few paces away from Gai, right next to the exit and with a hat in his right hand, from which he puts on while he replies: "A desperate act, don't you think? Why don't we get moving then so I can show you what a Phoenix Slayer is all about, hmm?" "True, I think I'm in need for some more activity. I've been sleeping way too much into the day now that I think about it." Gai agreed as he moved towards Nero and the exit of the pub. Leading Nero outside, the bright sunshine softly laid upon Gai's skin as he shielded his eyes from the illuminating light that touched the earth. The community of Oshibana Town seemed t be more lively today than usual, with more people chatting and walking around with the added advertising calls of stall owners and the giggling and yells of the children playing in the crowds. "Oh hey, I nearly forgot what day it was today! Ah well, we still need to attend this little fight of ours now don't we Nero." Gai said as he turned to Nero's direction, lifting an eyebrow up as he said it, "But then again, the annual fair might not be something we should miss so easily". Gai winked just as he finished the sentence, clearly hinting that instead of starting the fight now, all Gai wanted to do was attend the fair and partake in the many activities that the event had to offer. Nero had followed him outside but unlike Gai, his fedora covered the sun and he had no issues seeing the growing activity from the village. A sharp whistle in response to what he saw as the people was indeed in high spirits despite the fact that they recently woke up and that he hadn't seen anything going on before entering the tavern earlier. "It has been awhile since I attended something like this." Nero said as continued following and listening to Gai's proposal. Reaching to take off his hat with one hand for a moment and start dusting with the other as he spoke: "Well, since you put it like that, how can I refuse?" Inspecting his fedora one more time before putting it on again with a smile, he walked up to Gai and reached out his hand: "Guess we could call it a truce for now, aye Dai?" With a sarcastic laugh, Gai shook Nero's hand with a single eyebrow raised: "We'll see how long it will last if you keep that kind of behaviour up." Gai said unimpressed yet at the same time grinning. Leading Nero through the streets and into the crowd, Gai could really feel the circus and fair-like environment around him, from performers on stilts walking through the bustling groups of people to the many stalls that have been situated on the side, all attended by queues of customers waiting to purchase whatever they had on. "The people over here in Oshibana Town here act very quick mind you, once I passed out in the middle of the town square only to find myself surrounded by the whole town covered in Christmas lights and all that. Though to be fair, I was unconscious for like three to four... Months..." Gai said as his words dabbled on into the cheers of the crowds and the sonic retro sounds of the many games that went on at the fair. "Three, four months? You know what, that sounds like a long story so I'll be skipping the explanation on that one." The fair was already crowded with people from all ages, be they children, teenagers, adults or elders, everyone in the village was taking part in one way or another. "What are they celebrating anyway?" Nero spoke as they walked through the masses and into the heart of the activities. The food stalls around them contained beverages from all across Ishgar, be it a Desert Lizard's Tail from Desierto or alcohol from Enca, all very tempting to taste as there aren't easy to find in the country of Fiore. They continued walking for awhile before Nero stopped, tapping on Gai's shoulder and pointing towards two entertainment stalls next to one another: To the left was a traditional gunslinger competition that gave out various prizes for those who could shoot down the most cans. But to the right was a test of strength where the competitor would swing a wooden hammer and do their best to ring the big red bell at the top, also known as a High striker. "Well, care to test one out?" "Ah of course, we wanted to test your strength right? Perfect excuse right here!" Gai nodded with a smile, leading Nero to the activity by carefully moving through the crowd. Aiming for the strength activity, Gai clenched his teeth as he cringed at the current players of the game, two skinny frail men with proud looks on their faces as one of them struck the hammer downwards onto the pressure button. The metal puck only reached a quarter way of the line, though it seemed to be very impressive to the two of them. Disgusted by their ignorance, Gai quickly speed walked his way over to the two men before shoving them out of the way and taking the hammer from the latter's hand. "This is how it should be done," Gai jeered as he rolled his sleeves up and took aim for the lever, using all of the might that he could muster to strike downwards. The puck shot right into the sky and collided right into the bell, ringing loudly and catching the attention of the bypassers in the crowd. The two men that had previously given their shot at the High Striker were left shocked, jaws open in disbelief. Nero, on the other hand, found himself clapping his hands in amusement as the tune of the bell echoed throughout the fair. "Nice one, guess I gotta hit the top too if I wanna keep things even between us." Making his way forward to take hold of the wooden hammer, he takes off his fedora first before trading it with Gai's hammer for the time being. Looking at the bell first, then the puck and lastly the hammer, Nero couldn't help but snicker as both of his hand's were being adjusted to find the perfect grip in order to balance out the weight before making his move. Finally finding the right adjustments, Nero gets into position before raising the hammer just above his head, taking in a deep breath before striking the hammer downwards; his upper body following his movement as the lower parts held their grounds, just barely crouching his legs before impact. Once the hammer slammed itself against the pressure button, it didn't take long until the bell toll rang once more. Handing the hammer to the two men from earlier, Nero takes ahold of his fedora once again before both he and Gai starts moving again. "Well, while the fair is amusing, I'm starting to regret not picking that fight with you if my capabilities as a mage are what you're after... Speaking of which, care to share what magic you're using or are you going to keep me in the dark until a later point?" Gai's eyebrow curved up and a cheeky smile on his face emerged, "That's a good one, I like that. Keep me in the dark." Gai said with a chuckle. "But if you really want to know then I'm sure you'll be interested to hear that I am the polar opposite to this White Phoenix Slayer Magic my friend, I'm indeed a Black Spirit Slayer gasp." He said with pride in his voice, his grin letting out a small breath of air. The two walked through the bustling crowds, Gai felt comfortable in this vibrant environment though decided that he needed to spice some things up before he could really test Nero's metal. Looking around, Gai frantically looked for another activity to which both he and Nero could see each other as accomplished mages, but nothing came to sight. As the day moved on, Gai had led Nero to many food stalls around the fair, now carrying mounds of cotton candy, several cones of melting ice-cream with a chocolate shell and many packets of sweets and chocolates. "You know what we should do, we should put on a show for the people around us? Why not give them a light show to decorate the sky with hey?" Gai suggested as he turned his head to Nero. "Black Spirit Slayer? My, my, consider me intrigued. First time I've actually ever met a Spirit Slayer." He really was intrigued in fact, he had so far only encountered about five slayers before and none of them wielded Spirit Slayer Magic, let alone being the polar opposite element to himself. But they didn't speak much on the matter as they continued to wander across the fair, from one stall to the other, until finally being stopped by Gai and hearing out his suggestion: "A light show?" Nero states as he puts down the candy and everything else before forming a ball in his hand, almost like making a snowball, before showing a shining ball of light in the palm of his hand. "You did say "We", but I'm don't see how a Black Spirit Slayer would be able to create light." He stretched out his arms as he spoke and started toying with the ball, making it travel from one arm to the other, just barely managing to keep itself on as it bypasses his neck, back and forth. "Who says I was using that ability?" Gai winked as he reached back and pulled the rifle over on display for Nero, "To be honest here, I did have to forget or suppress my knowledge of Black Spirit Slayer to actually do this. And I'm not going to lie, it was a total shitstorm and a whopper of a headache once I decided to keep both magics..." He informed. Pointing the rifle into the air, a yellow seal appeared over the barrel of the gun, rotating around to signify that the spell was ready to cast, "Allow me to show you." He slightly bowed as the bullet was shot through the seal and into the sky. What was produced from the bullet was an explosion of light that blasted over Oshibana Town, shining brightly over the celebrating residents that had to shield their eyes away from a powerful source of light. Nero didn't have any issues viewing the explosion of light, not only did his fedora block the worst of it but he also felt a surge of energy fill his body; just being around an atmosphere of such positive emotions is enough to strengthen someone using White Magic in general. "I thought we were gonna make a show here, not make them cover their eyes." Snickering as he takes the opportunity to cast White Phoenix's Solidification: Archangel and takes to the skies, Nero makes it to the recently cast spell and consumes it before gathering his magical powers and unleashes them into the sky around him in the form of white light in different shapes and form. To the public and the naked eye, it would appear as if the light that lit the sky was first consumed, only to scatter into a vast array of fireworks. While they're occupied at viewing his work, Nero descends once again next to Gai and tips his fedora. Impressed with Nero's capabilities, Gai could only guess that the spell was from this White Phoenix Slayer Magic of his and only grew more intrigued with the man's powers. "The more you really do show me of this magic, the more I am curious about what else you can achieve with such a thing. Perhaps maybe we shall have a fight by the end of this wink wink." Gai grinned as he crossed his arms and the crowds around them looked in awe at the magical display. Many of the people around them had their eyes lit up and glistening with the bright shine of the light works created by both Gai and Nero's work. "You know, having you around here might not be so bad after all my friend." Gai noted as he pushed his glasses back onto his face as it slid down his nose a bit. It was truly a refreshing sound to hear, people from all ages had spent the entire day enjoying the festival and all it contained, the light show was a good way to send it off and give something back to the entire village in a sense. Nero was more so enjoying his company though, Gai had proven to be a man of promise and one he would gladly stand next to in the heat of battle or when the Council was shouting at them. Raising his hand and putting it onto his chest as he responded to Gai's remark: "I'd be glad to stick around for as long as I can and bear your insignia for all to see." A genuine smile actually appeared as he said those words, who knows where this will lead them. "And you know what, I'd accept that challenge any day. But considering our surrounding and the bills that would come with it, any other day would work just fine along with the appropriate spot." Gai was surprised of Nero's behaviour and attitude, he froze on the spot as he looked at Nero respecting both Gai and the guild, Gai didn't know what to do. "U-um sure. You seem to have caught me off guard there mate, I guess you've finally found one of my prime weaknesses: compliments and respect." Gai stuttered before placing his hand on Nero's shoulder with a firm grip. "Besides, money really isn't a problem here when you're with Stellara Nocte. Hell, probably one of the things we do have here IS money and a whole lot of it." Gai smiled, his pride in his wealth was something that many could see but wasn't something that defined his character but more of his advantages and strengths. Gai had found a friend within this stranger, and hoped that in the near future he wouldn't see Nero as a mysterious man anymore, but as a complete novel that Gai knew page by page. Nero snickered in response towards Gai's embarrassment, this "weakness" could prove to be a fun thing to explore in the near future, he'd be sure to keep it in mind for later. But by the end of the day, Stellara Nocte managed to get their hands on another member while both Nero and Gai came to regard one another as friends. The festival itself was nearing its closure and both mages was certainly tired after spending the entire exploring every piece of it, at times like these there was really one thing to do: "So Gai, what would you say about another round at Pablo's place?" "I thought you'd never ask." THE END